Our Bleeding Hearts
by aquaphir
Summary: When Jiyu thought that she wanted someone to share a cup of hot chocolate and watch the raindrops together, she didn't exactly expect a dark haired man who was dying. Seriously. [on hiatus]
1. Chapter 1

"It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."  
\- Anne Frank

WARNING: Spoilers probs all throughout the story!

 **Our Bleeding Hearts**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The sky was bleak.

The emotions and thoughts I thought I had suppressed until they were almost nonexistent were trying to break apart.

I was a terrible son, brother, and shinobi. Tired of my clan's demands and selfish wishes, I did not know the deceit of the clan until it had grown till it could not be stopped…

Maybe I had known but refused to acknowledge the pitiful and delirious state the once proud clan had become.

Every day and night I was pushed into battle.

Every day and night, as more and more of my enemies fell, more and more of my allies fell. I hated war for every fiber of my being. For the glory of Konoha, to protect the village I had grown to love and care about… I would remind myself when my hands were covered in blood and when I would wake up with a start, coughing, hoping for the pain to end.

But that was never truly enough.

"For Konoha," my masked self would say to Hokage sama, to the elders of the clan, and to father. Although my actions and my words never left them room to doubt my intentions, I could not help but feel slightly empty.

I said it was all for Konoha, but that could never be, and never was the entire reason.

Sasuke… my little brother whom I had cared for ever since he was little and the only one I could say that my actions were all for Konoha without my mask. To him, these words never seemed empty.

His existence, his pure gaze alone pushed me into jumping into the battlefield to protect Konoha, to protect him.

When I saw how father and the elders would push him into becoming an efficient tool for the clan, a killer with no honor, I made my decision. I finally decided to understand our pitiful clan, all for a better future of Sasuke, who knew nothing and deserved much better than to be ensnared by the dark hearts of our clan. I went to Hokage sama and the elders of the council with Shisui, who was also against the wishes of the clan, and we became double agents. We reported our clan's conspiracies.

But as time passed, we realized that the Uchiha clan was delirious. It desired for power and honor with uncontrollable passion. If they had never experienced such fame and glory in the past, the clan would never had made such decision. Both of us got more and more desperate as time passed.

Shisui, my brother and best friend, made his desperate attempt to pull the elders into his kotoamatsukami. However when I had gone out to the battlefield, Danzo had stolen his one of his eyes.

Shisui, my brother whom I could not save and whose promise I could not fulfill, consigned his remaining eye to me, saying that Danzo would not trust him any longer and that he would protect the village his own way no matter what.

His last words: "Please protect the village, and the honor of the Uchiha clan." Shisui had died with a smile on his face and left me with an unwilling gift, the Mangekyou Sharingan.

It was amazing how I, who was regarded as a prodigy, could not have the power, however minimal, to save my clan. It was scary how powerless and useless I was.

Danzo gave me two options: to do nothing about the Uchiha's coup and have the whole clan, including Sasuke, killed or to wipe out the clan before the coup started and be allowed to spare Sasuke.

It was laughable how a clan with such "all-seeing" eyes could be so blind. No matter how powerful the clan thought they were, they would not last against the entire village that was prepared. Danzo gave me those options, fully knowing which option I would choose.

Sasuke… my little brother… Although you do not know this, it was the only option to save you.

My teeth were clenched as I swung the sword against my parents. My father who could not see anything other than power and glory, my mother who was powerless and ignorant, by choice, of the clan's greed as her husband became more and more obsessed over meaningless power…

My father and my mother who died smiling, who knew the decision I would make, who thought I could protect my brother.

That day, my heart died for the second time. I had nightmares every night, where my hands were stained with the blood of my family and my heart ached and ached...

I finally understood why Shisui was smiling before he died. With my death, Sasuke would be considered a hero. With my death, the burden of my parents' death, the clans' death would be gone. I would finally be free of the pain.

But why did my heart hurt so much? I, who did not have anything left and deserved nothing, desired something to fill my empty heart?

I painfully walked towards Sasuke with the desire to see his face. I could barely make out the outline of his eyes and his face. Although time had changed his appearance, he still seemed like the little boy I cared for.

"Forgive me, Sasuke, but this is the last…" wish of mine… to be free

The sky was bleak. It was starting to rain. This is the end of Itachi Uchiha.

* * *

I loved and loved. It was a rather troublesome problem of mine – loving too much. I loved the morning sunshine, I loved the children and their laughter, I loved jumping on puddles after rainy days, I loved star gazing… basically, I loved everything.

Oh of course, loving hurts. Love means that I want to do everything to make those who I treasure happy. Love means that I would risk everything to help them. Love sometimes means being betrayed for loving. When that happens, it hurts a lot, of course.

But you know what? It does not matter anymore… because I am happiest when I love.

Even those who have fallen to the deepest black.

My name is Jiyu, a girl who was broken and shattered multiple times but managed to patch herself back with just love.


	2. Chapter 2

"If you're reading this...  
Congratulations, you're alive.  
If that's not something to smile about,  
then I don't know what is."  
― Chad Sugg, _Monsters Under Your Head_

 _italics_ \- thoughts

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 _It was raining outside_ , she thought while humming quietly. _She would go out on the porch later with a cup of hot chocolate and a warm blanket_ , she thought with a small smile.

Her reflection on the window was slightly distorted because of the random patterns made by the raindrops but she could still see her blue eyes and long brown hair. _A rather plain appearance, but pleasing,_ she thought with a large, silly grin on her face.

Jiyu looked at the chair beside her. _It would be even better if there was someone to share it with me_ , she thought, as a small part of her heart seemed to constrict slowly. She became lost in her past full of smiles and people who were dear to her. Raindrops softly pattered against her window as if they were consoling her.

The thought alone made her break out into a sunny smile unlike the weather outside.

The sky was getting darker and the winds stronger. Jiyu quickly broke out of her reverie when her window started screeching. The thought of fixing her old window quickly went to the back of her mind as she could hear and see thunders and lightning in the distance.

Her eyebrows scrunched worriedly. Raindrops were beginning to drop rapidly through the broken spots of her roof, and yet Jiyu couldn't keep her eyes off of the thunders in the distance.

Something was very strange. The chakra around her quivered as if they were nervous… as if something big would happen.

Then suddenly the sky cleared, leaving several clouds here and there. Something was rather unnatural. Then Jiyu saw it – a large flame in the distance. It didn't seem like a forest fire but it was fire nonetheless. It had a very weird shape… almost like a human?

What she saw next made her heart thunder nervously. Jiyu saw multiple, white snakes going towards the big flame. It was all very, very unnatural. The chakra around her was tense as she watched nervously.

Then, everything was over.

The white snakes and the large flame seemed to intertwine with each other until the snakes were gone and the red flame soon went away as well.

Everything was so quiet.

Not a squeak was heard and the birds were gone a long time ago. But what she could see and hear was the sound of her thundering heart and her hands that were nervously hovering in front of her, as if to protect something or someone who was obviously not there anymore.

* * *

Before his eyes closed for long, long time, Itachi remembered his gentle mother's embrace and his father's rare half smiles and Shisui's steady hand roughly patting him on the head and his brother's earnest gazes and smiles… and his heart ached.

* * *

When Jiyu thought she wanted someone to share a cup of hot chocolate and watch the raindrops with her, she didn't exactly expect a dark haired man who was dying. Seriously.

It was always her curiosity.

When the strange snakes and flame had gone away and the chakra around her settled as if nothing had happened in the first place, she had gotten curious… It was probably not a reaction of what a normal human would have but living out alone in the wilderness with the same routine everyday was certainly peaceful… too peaceful.

The rain came back softly while her thundering heart soon became to thunder for excitement as she put on a cape over herself and walked quietly towards the place the strange snakes and flame had appeared.

What she saw, she didn't expect. There was a large pile of rocks in front of her, enough to be called a mountain. But that certainly didn't stop her there.

She pulled up her sleeves and started climbing the rocks with the aid of chakra, something she hadn't done in a while. Her grin slowly became larger and larger as she reached the top.

When she finally did and looked over, there were jagged rocks everywhere and faint traces of chakra left almost everywhere. Whoever made this mess was definitely powerful.

There was a faint, quivering chakra over a large piece of rock. The familiar feeling of chakra rapidly disintegrating pushed her to get moving to the person who was dying. The thought of the person being powerful and maybe a criminal quickly went to the back of her head again.

And there he was, a dark haired man with faded eyes and blood all over his face that was quickly being washed by the rain.

* * *

 ***Because the Konoha nin (Naruto, Hinata, Kakashi...) came to the place much more quickly than Tobito expected, let's say that he only took Sasuke and Jiyu came to the opposite side the ninjas came so there was so Amaretsu blocking it…**


	3. Chapter 3

"They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for."  
― Tom Bodett

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

The dark haired man was obviously very injured and seemed to be a missing nin, judging by the deliberately scratched headband and the mesh worn inside his shirt. The ruins of the land around him and the flame or the white snakes were most likely done by him.

That fact probably should've made Jiyu run away and abandon him like a normal, sane person would, but one look at the expression on his face made her heart quiver.

He had looks of resignation, pain, love, and many other undecipherable feelings mixed all together—they reminded her of the darker sides of her memories.

Her breath hitched and resolution took over.

She was taken aback by this familiar expression and her feet shook slightly beneath her, but Jiyu simply couldn't step away… especially now that she saw his expression.

He was most likely a dangerous man and probably without any morals. But his expression told her otherwise.

He had love in his faded eyes.

She had no definite evidence that that was true, and she didn't even know if that was enough of a reason to save.

But Jiyu's heart bled more than anyone could imagine, and yet still managed to survive, slowly but surely.

She already knew that she wasn't normal so she decided to take him to her place and have some hot chocolate and watch the rain together.

If the love she saw in his eyes wasn't enough of a reason to save him, Jiyu didn't know what would be. So she easily heaved him over her back, channeled chakra to my feet, and took him to the lonely house in the middle of nowhere.

* * *

"Geh, I totally would've won that round, Shizune!" a blonde woman stomped out of the casino with a bellow. The younger dark haired woman trailing after the former out of the casino managed to look apologetic and scolding at the same time.

Although Tsunade was frustrated with her apprentice, Shizune, she knew that it was the right decision to get out of the casino. Not only were they about to run out of all of their money, but also rumors would spread of her presence in this place, which would attract bothersome Konoha ninja to ask her to come back or to ask her to teach them her "ways."

 _All of that would be meaningless, asking that from a legendary med-nin who is afraid of blood,_ she thought, huffing at herself. She quickly stopped her train of thought when she could almost feel Shizune's sympathetic gaze.

"I'm not weak, Shizune! Don't look down on me," Tsunade barked at her apprentice to which she answered with an amused sighing, "hai, hai, Tsunade-sama."

Shizune knew, of course, that her shishou was a strong person. She had saved more lives than she could ever imagine. That was why, despite all the years they had traveled together, she still called her shishou, shishou proudly.

When her uncle Dan had died, the sky cried with them. When he had died, Shizune didn't think that she could ever be who she was again, but Tsunade-sama, despite fearing blood and losing the people who were most important to her, shouldered her pain quietly and mourned on the inside.

 _That_ , Shizune thought, _was strength._

They walked again for awhile. Tsunade and her apprentice usually went where they pleased. If they found a town, she would go straight to the casino and gamble and drink as much as she liked.

Having this freedom, was what Tsunade liked about leaving the village, although she still had that annoying feeling in her heart that wouldn't leave no matter what.

 **XXX**

Today was a weird one for sure. Tsunade had won the gamble in the casino. Although she was in high spirits, she had a feeling something was going to be different that day.

Tsunade had thought too soon when a brat in rags who appeared to be stealing a piece of bread rammed into her.

"I'm so sorry! I was just so hungry that I-"the brat/girl babbled her excuse on and on. The girl looked hungry and tired, obviously, by the bags under her eyes and visible bones all over her body.

Her eyes, however, weren't dull despite the traces of tears in them.

"Girl, stop talking," the girl shut up with an audible clack. "You're fine, you can go, but stealing is not a virtuous act. Don't make a habit out of it," Tsunade said gruffly and Shizune smiled warmly at her shishou's rare kinder side.

Then, the girl smiled and her whole face lit up, brightening up her eyes and Tsunade realized that she probably did that a lot.

A part of her ached as she remembered the boy in her past who would smile the same way and make her day brighter, a part of her was reminded of the better times, the times that were warm despite the ongoing war.

So Tsunade, despite the pitiful state she had put herself in, decided to make a tiny step out and said, "Girl, what do you think of healing?"

* * *

Jiyu carefully meandered through the maze-like forest with little effort, although the man on her back was probably twice her weight.

The back of her neck was burning with the heat of the man's fever, and the blood from his eyes and mouth was trailing down her neck to inside her shirt. His breath was erratic and his almost nonexistent chakra wavered.

Unless you were a very, very sensitive chakra sensor, you wouldn't be able to tell that the man was alive.

 _But too bad I am one of those very, very sensitve sensors,_ Jiyu thought wryly.

Losing a person now was not one of the things she was about to do.

She doubled her speed while sending healing jutsu towards the man's heart to prolong his life, and quickly disengaged the genjustsu that concealed her house. She entered her cottage-slash-house and took the man to the futon on her small but comely living room.

When Jiyu laid him down, she grinned triumphantly at the man as a nervous sweat started running down her forehead. The situation was slowly dawning on her.

She brought a dangerous missing nin into her house?

Then his heart started to fail and with her poor, bleeding heart, she quickly started to heal him with the techniques her beloved shishou had taught her a long, long time.

The situation was probably very serious. There wasn't a high probability that he would survive, and perhaps after he did survive, the first thing he would do will be to kill her after he wakes up.

But the nostalgic, soothing glow of her chakra put a small, genuine smile on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

"There is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for."  
― J.R.R. Tolkien, _The Two Towers_

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 _Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh_ , Jiyu thought as she clutched her mug of coffee like a life line. W _hy did I decide to do this again?_ She complained, but the smile on her face was genuine. When was the last time she had healed someone? The soothing glow of healing chakra was almost exhilarating.

But… guuuuuuh.. it was hard

She thought the man's injuries and sickness had resulted from his battle with an unknown person. But when Jiyu delved in deeper into his body, she found an illness that had apparently been in the man for awhile.

Hemoptysis. _He had hemoptysis_.

She wanted to sigh.

Jiyu wanted to strangle the man for not looking for a professional med-nin to help him, but quickly remembered that one: her definition of professional med-nin was shishou who was a legendary med-nin and of course, there weren't many of her around, and two: the man was a missing-nin. He couldn't just simply walk into a town and ask a med-nin, who could probably kill him without him noticing, to heal him. He also seemed to have to illness ever since he was young.

Maybe he had become a missing nin at a younger age?

She quickly shook her head as she tried to get back her thoughts to the man and his illness.

Hemoptysis is basically when the person coughs up blood. Some causes for this illness are bronchitis, lung cancer, pneumonia, etc., but most of the time, the causes are usually unknown, like for the man. Hemoptysis caused by bronchitis is not life-threatening, but otherwise, it was life-threatening.

Jiyu didn't think the illness she was going to heal in a while was going to be hemoptysis, but she pulled up her sleeves, tied her hair up, and started working, as her face slid into a determined and concentrated expression.

 **XXX**

The man was very feverish the first week. He was asleep and never woke up once. He was constantly tossing around in his sleep, as if he was fighting imaginary enemies, which he probably was doing in his sleep. Being a ninja meant that kind of life… especially missing nin.

He also started coughing blood. His face would scrunch up, and he would try to fold his body in a way to somehow ease his pain.

When that happened, Jiyu would wipe his face with a clean cloth and put her hand on his forehead to send healing chakra to relieve his pain. The frowns on his face would ease and his breathing would get easier when that happened.

Then, she would calm her anxious heart and watch his sleeping face quietly.

He had such deep stress lines, but neither did he have laugh lines nor frown lines. He seemed like a serious person who didn't have much expression, Jiyu mused. She already couldn't wait for him to wake up.

 _But to do that_ , Jiyu thought, _I have to work hard_. She stood up and headed out towards her garden of medical herbs with a determined smile.

* * *

"Yattaaa!" Jiyu screamed and whooped in joy as she finally managed to keep the fish under her hands alive for 30 minutes. She quickly turned to look at her shishou. "You owe me dango now!" she said with a smug grin.

The surprised look on her shishou's face was quickly gone by the time Jiyu was screeching, but soon had an amused look on her face when the healing glow above the fish began to falter while the girl was bragging.

"Guess not, girl," this time, her shishou said smugly.

"What?"

"Look at the fish."

"Oh what… wait what?" Jiyu frantically tried to summon the healing chakra back, but it was too late. The glow faltered and finally flickered off.

"Guess you owe me sake."

"Aww man… almost had it."

"Tsunade-sama, what kind of gamble are you doing with a child?" Shizune suddenly came in and eyed her shishou suspiciously.

Jiyu quickly went over to her and explained the situation with her arms flailing all over the place and her feet shuffling into some weird dance step.

Shizune tried to be serious - seriously, who gambles for sake with a kid? – but quickly failed to keep her laughter at the child's antics.

She fondly patted her head and promised her dango. Tsunade told her that she was spoiling Jiyu too much, but the fond smile on her face said otherwise.

* * *

The man would twitch his left ring finger whenever the room was too hot or too cold. He would twitch his right eyebrow when she would sing some song horribly on purpose…on purpose, Jiyu swore. Also, his right big toe would twitch when it was raining.

How would she know?

Because it had been a couple of weeks but he still hadn't woken up yet and Jiyu had been looking for every symptom that he was going to wake up.

She tickled the man under the nose with a feather and his nose scrunched, to which she burst into giggles.

She probably shouldn't do that to a sick man but she was kinda bored. Jiyu had managed to be all alone for a long time, but now there was someone around. She kinda wanted to interact with said person.

She increased her healing sessions on the man as he started to feel better. His fever was still there but he would no longer toss around his sleep. He would still have some nightmares sometimes but it wasn't as bad as before when he would try to get up and actually fight. That frightened her in the middle of the night whenever she would hear crashing, but that was a good thing.

Jiyu would know when he was in pain because then she could relieve it.

His coughing also started to lessen.

Of course, it was the result of sleepless nights, constant check-ups, and intense hours of healing sessions that no doctor would be able to do to just one patient, but Jiyu had all the time and reason to heal the man.

But she knew that he could get worse before maybe getting better. As soon as his fever will go down a little, all of his symptoms will come back with vengeance.

But it couldn't be that bad, would it?

 **XXX**

She seriously said that too soon. The man was definitely a ninja for sure… although Jiyu already knew that. He started throwing up, a good sign that his body was trying hard to get rid of whatever that was making him sick.

Whenever he would move his body up unconsciously to throw up, Jiyu would try to help him but the man would push her away. His eyes were closed and yet he pushed her away with precision.

He would push her away for a couple of times until finally he would use up all of his energy for the day and lie back down.

* * *

His whole body was burning up, an obvious sign that he was somehow still alive.

Was it Madara? Was it the Akatsuki? Or revenge of one of the many he had killed in the past?

Whichever it was, he did not want to be there.

Delirious from the fever, Itachi, with his eyes still closed, grabbed his own neck and started squeezing. His nails were digging into his neck with blood was trailing down. This was the right thing to do.

He had no reason to be alive anymore.

As the panic that clouded his mind began to fade away and as he was using up his energy for the day, he started noticing things.

He could hear the rain, he could smell coffee, and he could feel the blanket that was secured over his body firmly. Whoever that brought him out of the dead was definitely not an enemy.

He was probably saved by the goodness of someone's heart.

For the first time in a long, long time, Itachi was clueless of what to do.

* * *

 **Guardian of Heaven** : awww you're so sweet! Thank you so much! your reviews always encourage me a lot!


	5. Chapter 5

"Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart."  
― José N. Harris, _MI VIDA: A Story of Faith, Hope and Love_

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Even before the brief moment when he was almost conscious and tried to kill himself, all Itachi could remember was pain. His whole body was burning, his lungs felt like they were trying to jump out his body, and he couldn't feel his limbs.

He wondered if he was in hell, because he certainly deserved it. The people he had killed in his nightmares agreed readily.

It was terrible… almost to the point where he thought he would do anything to end this pain.

Every second, he would be fighting some enemy in the past who would try to take his eyes. _NonononoIneedthistoprotectprotectprotectprotect_

Then, he would become a monster, killing his family over and over again. He would be smiling gleefully, as if he actually enjoyed it.

Did he actually? Weren't they the cause of his pain? _OhmygoddidIreallythinkthat?_

Then he begged and begged and begged to the stars for the first time – for freedom.

When he did, a cold, gentle hand would lie on his forehead and he would fall asleep almost immediately.

He would then dream of his brother, eager for praise after hitting a bull's eye, his mother's frown as she fretted over his injuries after a grueling mission, his father's frustrated yet proud smile as he was defeated in shogi, and Shisui's animated expressions as he told a funny story.

 **XXX**

Then the throwing up would start. Once in a while, adrenaline would help him to rise and throw up to the side, and he would crash back down from exhaustion.

But Itachi's fever lowered painstakingly slowly, but it started going down nonetheless.

And for the first in a long, long time, he could breathe steadily.

Sometimes, when he was in the line between consciousness and unconsciousness, he would spend time, which he did not how long, simply being mesmerized by the in and out of his breathing.

Then, before he could use up the last of his energy to explore his surroundings to see who would save a missing nin beyond repair - above all people - then Itachi would faint, and he would sleep better than he had in years.

 **XXX**

 _Why was she so random? And so emotional?_ Jiyu sighed.

She did not know if the man was conscious, but he had definitely tried to kill himself or maybe clench his throat so hard that he would stop the pain and coughing? The latter one was more to assure herself rather than actually believing it to be true.

That man - seriously, Jiyu was going start giving him a funny nickname like… Sunshine? if he wasn't going to wake up soon – had a hard past for sure.

The man (aka Sunshine) didn't know of all of the hours and herbs she spent to heal him. She decided to herself that she was going to tell him ALL about when he woke up. She would tell him that dying wasn't an option inside her humble house.

Well, dying wasn't an option at all for him now, because Sunshine reminded her of her dark past that she would love to change in exchange of anything, even her life.

So Jiyu decided she was going to start making a difference with Sunshine (she had a feeling Sunshine wouldn't appreciate his name but, oh well) for now.

Once again, a large, silly grin found its way onto her face as she imagined her and Sunshine drinking hot chocolate and watching the rain together. She was serious. Jiyu still hadn't given up on that.

* * *

Sunshine had a very weird timing. Of all the times he could wake up, he wakes up now. Jiyu murmured to herself.

 **XXX**

Itachi constantly flitted back and forth from consciousness and unconsciousness; he was still unconsciousness more than anything, but his body felt much lighter.

After an especially great, dreamless nap, Itachi could feel his eyelids and nose twitching. The small but bright light that entered his eyes finally caused him to painstakingly open his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was that someone was tickling his nose. With a feather.

Uncertain of how to react to this non-hostile action (or was it?), he craned his stiff neck slightly up, and he saw the blue, blue eyes of a woman who appeared to be frozen at his abrupt awakening.

Itachi expected the woman to drop the feather and scream or start attacking, but she did the exact opposite.

His near blindness didn't let him to perceive everything, but he saw her already large eyes widening rapidly and disbelief taking over her expression as it was quickly wiped off before a large, happy smile brightened up her face.

Although he was almost blind, Itachi could certainly see that this woman was…happy to see him awake?

However, what he could see was that the woman had not let go of the feather during this whole ordeal.

A feather that would be known as the evil weapon to Itachi and a weapon of unicorns and love to Jiyu in the distant future.

* * *

Guardian of Heaven: Yup! As the author, I'm enjoying tormenting "my characters" for now... but it'll get better for them! yup... there are so many lazy, lazy people! Y'll should review! They're always an encouragement  
CalicoKitty402: Haha I'll make sure to write *gestures at screen* more of this! Thank you!  
snickermoon814: Glad you're happy! Thank you for the cookies... though I ate them a long time ago ;) I always miss typos...haha  
xenocanaan: Thank you! I can't wait to write the next chapter either!


	6. Chapter 6

"Walk on with hope in your heart,  
and you'll never walk alone"  
― Shah Rukh Khan

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

My hometown was a place nobody could forget.

It didn't have towering buildings or a prosperous business that made the whole place lively. It was just a small town that was not even close to being a village.

The streets were dusty and constantly deforming due to the frequent rainfall. There were small cottages made hurriedly out of wood because it only served as a place for protection from rain and a place to sleep.

There were only five cottages in total. One for my family, one for my young cousin Lin and her drunkard husband and their three children, one for Aunt Aiko and Uncle Eiji, one for my sister Eri and her husband Hideo, and finally one for my cousin Hisato and his fiancé Naoko. We all worked as farmers and occasionally as merchants for those who rarely passed by.

None of us were wealthy, but we were very happy.

 **XXX**

My town was so beautiful.

There was a hill behind our small cluster of cottages and fields.

When the day was dawning, I would take some onigiri that I had saved from last night's dinner, and I would climb the hill covered with bright, yellow daffodils and pink daisies.

Hiking during the night was not difficult, as my short legs had memorized the trip I had taken so frequently.

I would not tell anyone of my trip to the hill during dawn, but occasionally, mom's special onigiri would be left on the counter. Then, I would always have a warm tingly feeling in my heart which I savored with a big, goofy smile. I would then shout a quiet "Love you too, mom!" and leave the house with a skip.

By the time I would finally reach the top of the hill, the sun would start rising. From the top of the hill, the seemingly endless sea of yellow daffodils would slowly start turning into different shades of orange.

Then, I would pick out the most fiery, orange daffodil to give to my mom later. My dirty self covered with leaves and dirt would always give her a big hug while saying, "I got the sunniest flower for you!" to which my mom would respond with an equally big hug with a gentle, grateful smile.

Then, the sun would slowly warm my body chilled by the cold morning air. First, the sun would touch my feet, then my legs, up to my exposed neck, and finally my face. Then, I would lay down on my back, allowing the sun to pour out its warmth to me.

Once I slowly walked back to my home, my sister Eri would take a long look at my tousled hair decorated with leaves and twigs and at my dirty shirt and pants. Then, she would always scold me and sigh before telling me to run along and do my chores.

If I remembered to pick up some daisies for her, Eri would laugh before roughly petting my head. She would always say, "You think this would help me stop scolding you?" but it did help her scold me less.

I loved my family dearly. Mom had rough hands and sun kissed skin from working out in the fields for a long time. Her back was slowly bending, and her hair was starting to grow whiter with age.

Mom was beautiful. The wrinkles that started to form whenever she laughed or smiled were beautiful. Her rough hands were always warm and comfy to hold. The loving smile she would give me whenever I massaged her aching back was always rewarding. Her white hairs would shine in the sun.

Dad was strong and "very dashing," as he liked to describe himself. Dad was very tall, so whenever he would pick me up and put me on his shoulders, I felt like I could reach the sky. Dad would often leave for the bigger towns to sell our crops, but he would always return with gifts. For me, he would bring me snacks and accessories for my mom and sister. Despite being married for years, dad would always blush whenever mom kissed him.

Like mom and dad, Eri was very strong and beautiful. She would always scold me for being mischievous, but my antics always made her laugh. When she smiled, her eyes would crinkle like mom's eyes, and a small dimple would appear to the side like dad.

I thought she was beautiful whenever she smiled. When I told her that, Eri would always kiss my forehead with a quiet but loving, "Oh you." Her husband would agree with me wholeheartedly, since he was traveling merchant who fell in love with her smile at first sight.

 **XXX**

But the day I found a strange, injured teenage boy with strange markings underneath his eyes and blood-covered weapons lying on our field was the day my peaceful life was changed.

* * *

They stared at each other for awhile in the same awkward position where Itachi would be lying on his futon and where Jiyu would be awkwardly hovering over him.

The situation would have seemed almost romantic if Itachi didn't look he had just risen from the dead, which he did, and if Jiyu wasn't holding a feather up to his nose.

Jiyu couldn't help but notice the look of complete befuddlement on Sunshine's face. She had already concluded and was probably right that the man didn't have much expression.

Seriously.

She already knew that she was strange and weird but the way he was looking at her was too much.

Jiyu broke into giggles.

* * *

Sorry for being late!

Thank you for encouragement! I really appreciate it


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